Calvary Baptist Church

What We Believe

1. The Scriptures

We believe that both the Old and New Testaments are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. Through the providence of God, the Scriptures have been preserved. The Authorized King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation used for church functions. (Psalm 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).

2. God

We believe that there is only one true and living God existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each a distinct Person, but all of one essence and all having the same nature, perfections, and attributes, and each is worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience (Genesis 1:26; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 3:16–17; 28:19).

3. Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, shed His Blood on Calvary as a vicarious substitute, was buried, rose again bodily, and ascended to the Father according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18–25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 4:15).

4. Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, very God, coexistent with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the chief agent in regeneration, the chief convictor of sin, and the chief comforter of the believer. Simultaneous with regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ. It is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. We are a non–Charismatic ministry (Matthew 28:19; John 16:7–11; Acts 5:3–4; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14 Ephesians. 1:17-18; 5:18; Romans. 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians. 4:7-12; 1 Corinthians. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22).

5. Man

We believe that man is the direct creation of God—body, soul, and spirit—and is not in any sense the result of evolution, but is made in the image of God. Adam, the first man, sinned by disobedience. This act resulted in the fall of mankind and incurred both physical and spiritual death for all. Thus, man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26–27; Romans 3:10, 23; 5:12; Ephesians. 2: 1-3; 4: 17-19).

6. Salvation

We believe that all who, in faith, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour are born again by the Holy Spirit and thus become the children of God. Salvation includes redemption, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. We believe that repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ are the essential conditions for appropriating the saving grace of God (Luke 13:3,5; John 1:12; 3:3; 17:17; Acts 20:21; Romans 8:29–30; Ephesians 2:8–9; 4:30; Titus 3:5).

7. Second Coming

We believe in the literal, visible, personal, pre–millennial, pre–tribulational return of Jesus Christ for His Church. At this event the dead in Christ and living believers will be translated to meet Him in the air. At the end of the seven year tribulation period, Christ will visibly descend with the saints to establish His earthly millennial kingdom (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Revelation 20:1–6).

8. Providence

We believe in the providence of God, but that He is in no wise the author or approver of sin, nor the destroyer of the free will and responsibility of man (John 3:16; Romans 8:28–30).

9. The Priesthood of the Believer

We believe in the priesthood of all believers so that every Christian has direct access to God in prayer through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, and that there is no mediator between God and man other than Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:16; 1 Timothy 2:5; Revelation 1:6).

10. The Security of the Believer

We believe that salvation is not only a gift from the Lord, but also is sustained by the Lord. The Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer and seals him in salvation for eternity. Therefore, since salvation is wholly of the Lord, apart from the works of man, we hold that the believer shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation. This security in no way gives professors in Christ a license to sin. It is our conviction that all who are preserved by God’s eternal power should pursue holiness (John 10:28; 14:16–17, 26; Romans 6:22; 1 Corinthians 2:9–14; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 1:4; 1:13; 2:8–9; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24–25).

11. Satan

We believe that Satan was originally created a perfect being. He rebelled against God. As a result, he became depraved, the Devil and adversary of God and His people, the leader of a host of angels who fell with him. Satan has been judged and defeated at the Cross and awaits his ultimate doom at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 14:13–14; Ezekiel 28:13–17; John 16:11; 1 Timothy 3:7; Revelation 20:10).

12. The Lord’s Day

We believe that Sunday is the Lord’s Day and is a Christian institution for regular observance of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private (1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).

13. Creation

We believe the Triune God created the universe apart from preexisting materials. We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. We believe in this historicity of the first eleven chapters of Genesis (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 19:4; John 1:1–3; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16–17; Hebrews 11:3).

14. The Local Church

We believe that the New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers with Christ as its Head and the Holy Spirit as its guide. New Testament churches promote God’s work by personal and corporate evangelism, and by cooperating with other local N.T. churches of like faith and practice for missions and many other joint efforts. The local church is governed independently from outside persons, bodies, groups, or authorities (Matthew 28:16–20; Acts 1:6–8; 6:3; 1 Corinthians 16:1; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 5:20a; 8—10; Ephesians 1:3–6, 22–23; Philippians 4:15–16).

15. Ordinances

We believe that the local church observes two ordinances—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that all who have received Christ as Lord and Saviour should be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit; that baptism is by immersion in the likeness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; and that the Lord’s Supper should be observed in remembrance of Him to show forth His death for our sins until He comes again. (Matthew 26:26–30; 28:19–20; Romans 6:3–6; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).

16. Separation

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God ( Romans. 12: 1-2; 14: 13; 2 Corinthians. 6: 14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).

17. Eternal State

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life in Heaven, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment in Hell (Matthew. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13).

18. Missions

We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are committed to world missions through prayer, sending, and giving for missionaries of like faith and practice (Matthew. 28: 19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians. 5:20).

19. Human Sexuality

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of marital, sexual intimacy. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5; 13 Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 1Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)

We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23). Marriage ceremonies performed in any facility owned, leased or rented by this church will be only those ceremonies sanctioned by God, joining one man with one woman as that gender was determined at birth. An minister associated with this church will officiate only such marriage ceremonies.

The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.